India Must Fix Certification, Logistics to Tap UK's $929B Import Market

For supply chain executives, the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a strategic alarm bell. While it opens duty-free access to the UK’s $929 billion import market, Indian exporters currently capture only 1.6% of that spend—a direct result of weak certification infrastructure, fragmented logistics, and limited buyer linkages. Unless supply chain leaders invest urgently in compliance and cold chain upgrades, the tariff advantage will be nullified on the ground.

On July 15, 2026, the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will come into force, eliminating tariffs on a wide range of goods. But according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), market access alone will not automatically boost India’s exports. The think tank’s analysis, published on July 12, warns that India must urgently address non-tariff barriers—standards, certification, cold chain logistics, and buyer networks—to convert this opportunity into real order growth.

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In 2025, the UK imported $928.9 billion in goods, yet India supplied only $15.2 billion, a meagre 1.6% share.

The current trade figures illustrate the challenge. In 2025, the UK imported $928.9 billion in goods, yet India supplied only $15.2 billion, a meagre 1.6% share. Conversely, the UK accounts for only 3.4% of India’s $445 billion global exports. GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava emphasizes that low market share alone does not signal a big opportunity; the real potential lies in sectors where India has strong production capacity, UK demand is robust, and the FTA removes a meaningful tariff disadvantage.

Those sectors, according to GTRI’s granular analysis, are labour-intensive goods—garments, textiles, leather, footwear, processed foods, and seafood—as well as automobiles and selected manufacturers. Steel, petroleum, and alcohol are seen as less likely to gain significantly because of existing global pricing dynamics or limited tariff benefits.

Yet even in the winning sectors, success is contingent on parallel infrastructure building. Food exporters, for example, must invest in better testing, traceability, and compliance with the UK’s stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules. Machinery and electronics companies require internationally recognized certifications, upgraded technology, and direct relationships with British buyers. Automobile parts makers must master complex rules-of-origin documentation and technical specifications. Garment and footwear producers, similarly, need to move swiftly to turn the initial tariff savings into long-term purchase orders before competitors from Bangladesh, Vietnam, or Turkey adjust their own pricing and supply chains.

From a supply chain perspective, the gaps are structural. India’s export logistics—particularly cold chain for perishables—are fragmented and underdeveloped. Certification bodies often have limited capacity, leading to delays and rejections at UK ports. Many small and medium exporters lack direct access to UK retail chains, relying instead on intermediaries who capture a large share of margins. The FTA opens a door, but that door will only stay open if Indian exporters can consistently deliver goods that meet UK quality, safety, and labeling standards.

GTRI’s prescription is clear: a coordinated push on standards harmonization, mutual recognition of conformity assessments, expansion of testing labs, and trade promotion to build buyer networks. The Indian government and industry bodies will need to invest in exporter training and matchmaking events. Without these, the risk is that the FTA becomes merely a political win with negligible commercial traction.